It was first developed in the 1950s and was once the largest regional mall between Los Angeles and Dallas.

Its size is almost that of Downtown Albuquerque, and at one point it even had an amusement park on its grounds.

The highly anticipated and ambitious redevelopment of Winrock Mall — now Winrock Town Center — began in earnest in 2007, when the Goodman Realty Group purchased the 84-acre site. But a total buildout of the project is still about four to six years away, according to a top executive.

Goodman Vice President of Development Darin Sand gave the North I-25 Business Association a Winrock status report at a luncheon Thursday.

Sand said after the site was purchased, the economy went south, so plans didn’t move as quickly as anticipated. But he said that hasn’t stopped what he calls continuing efforts to transform the site into a live-work-play development focused on natural resource management and environmental efforts.

“Our desire is to redevelop it as a destination for the entire region,” Sand said. “It will serve as a working lab for uniquely sustainable development through the creation of public-private partnerships. We think of it as a laboratory for sustainable and cutting edge technologies.”

Some of those ideas include on-site water treatment, energy production and efficiency, food production and recycling programs. Sand said a proposal is in the works for a circulator, or trolley system, that would connect Winrock with Coronado Center and ABQ Uptown, providing a “park once” environment. Sand previously worked with developer Gary Goodman on downtown Albuquerque’s Hotel Andaluz, which has been recognized with a number of environmental awards.

Winrock is finishing construction of the state’s first commercial IMAX theater on its southeast corner. The 16-screen, 3,000-seat IMAX Regal Cinema is due to be completed in November. New construction will begin soon to convert the current UA Winrock 6 theater into a Dave and Buster’s Restaurant, also to be completed this year. Sand said new leases are being negotiated and could be announced as soon as August 1.

In addition, Sand said negotiations are under way with a Houston developer to build a 250-unit, high-end residential complex near Indian School Road and Pennsylvania Avenue on the northeast section of the property.

The Winrock master plan calls for a mix of national retailers and restaurants, with residential and office components, as well as a hotel.

“It’s a little town we’re building. It might seem a little crazy, but this is not a traditional approach to developing real estate,” Sand said.

The North I-25 Business Association luncheon took place at the Nativo Lodge at 6000 Pan American Freeway NE and was sponsored by Klinger Constructors.